Bhopal: Amid the gloom surrounding the death of four passengers who jumped onto an adjacent track after an alleged rumour of a fire on their train, only to be crushed under the wheels of another train on the opposite line, railway authorities on Monday constituted a six-member inquiry committee to probe the circumstances leading to the incident.
The tragic incident unfolded near Morena on Sunday after the passengers, out of panic, jumped off the Khajuraho-Udaipur Intercity Express before being struck by the Patalkot Express on the adjacent line.
Clarifying speculation, railway officials earlier stated that the incident was not triggered by rumours of a fire or mobile phone explosion inside the train, as initially claimed. Instead, officials said the sequence of events unfolded after the alarm chain pulling (ACP) brought the train to a halt between Hetampur and Dholpur stations around 4.15 pm.
The Khajuraho-Udaipur Intercity Express had stopped after a passenger pulled the alarm chain in a general coach, officials said. Several passengers subsequently disembarked and moved onto an adjacent railway track, where they were struck by Train No. 20424 Firozpur-Seoni Patalkot Express approaching from the opposite direction.
“There was no rumour behind the incident. The train had stopped because of the alarm chain pulling (ACP). Passengers got down from the train and either stood on the track or attempted to cross it at an unsafe location, leading to the incident,” said Manoj Kumar Singh, public relations officer, Jhansi Division.
“The reason for the alarm chain pulling is yet to be ascertained. We have ordered a probe by a panel of senior officers to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident,” he added.
Officials of the railway administration, along with Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel, as well as local administrative officials, visited the spot and initiated relief and rescue operations in the aftermath of Sunday’s incident.
The inquiry panel will examine the sequence of events, circumstances surrounding the chain pulling, and whether any operational or safety lapses occurred.
The deceased were identified as Birma Devi (60) of Bikaner in Rajasthan, Shakuntala Singh (60) of Agra, and Afreen (35) along with her four-year-old son Asad from Sultanganj in Agra.
A 39-second video of the incident that surfaced online showed passengers standing on the railway tracks, many carrying luggage, while the Patalkot Express approaches on the adjacent line. The loco pilot was seen sounding repeated warnings and applying emergency brakes, but several passengers failed to move away in time.
Police said personnel from Sarai Chhola and Civil Lines police stations, who were conducting an operation against an illegal sand dump nearby, went to the scene after being alerted and assisted railway officials in rescue operations.
